


To the Victor Goes the History

by Sol1056



Series: This Intersection Time [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate View of Canon History, Backstory Retold, Canon Retold, Gen, Mid-Canon, Side Story, blade of marmora
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 17:52:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12709941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sol1056/pseuds/Sol1056
Summary: Kolivan explains to Keith the Galra version of the war with Altea. Side-story toThe Uncertain Hour, can be read as standalone.





	To the Victor Goes the History

Keith perched on the edge of a stool at the meeting table, idly rearranging his mission notes. The meeting was done, the two teams dispersed, and Okdira had told him to wait for Kolivan. In the unexpected solitude, his mind wandered.

"Kit?" Kolivan stood at Keith's side, watching.

"Oh." Keith hurried to stand. "Sorry."

"Your mind was quite far." Kolivan took a seat opposite and folded his massive hands before him.

"I was thinking about…" Keith shrugged. "How Alfor and Zarkon stopped being friends."

Kolivan's brows went up. "Friends?"

Keith knew that particular type of silence from Kolivan. It was a prompt, if Keith chose to take it. Too curious to resist, Keith gave a quick summary of what Coran had told the paladins. Part of his mind continued to chew over Kolivan's reaction. Surprise, tinged with amusement. It rankled, for some reason.

When he finished, Kolivan brought up a small window on the table-screen. He tapped a few times, and Keith's notes slid to the side.

"Every people has their own history," Kolivan said. "In the case of the Galra, we have two. One taught to every kit, and one known only to imperial archivists. Neither bears much resemblance to the fairytale you were told."

Keith frowned. "But Alfor and Zarkon were once friends—"

"Yes and no." Kolivan finished sorting through the windows before him. "Here." He turned several of the images he'd pulled up, and flicked each with a claw.

They came to stop before Keith, and he tugged them back and forth, lining them up.

"To understand what happened," Kolivan said, "I must go back further, to where it began. That image on your far left is King Gregory, and Allura's great-grandfather."

"Not Groggery?" Keith studied the image. "Coran has money with this guy on it."

"The Alteans liked to give affectionately mocking names to the royal family." Kolivan didn't sound like he approved. "From contemporary reports—"

"What kind?"

"First-hand accounts." Kolivan waited. When Keith didn't interrupt again, Kolivan continued. "From those records, it could be that Gregory had no aptitude for leadership. Or it could be that he had no interest. Either way, Altea was on the brink of internal war, and much of it was due to various noble powers interpreting Gregory's words as they chose. Eventually a coalition came together, led by Gregory's eldest daughter."

"Allura's grandmother?"

"Correct." Kolivan pointed to the second image. "She convened the nobles and established a parliament, setting herself up as regent for her father."

"Why not just make him retire," Keith muttered.

Kolivan's eyes narrowed, but his mouth curled up at the corner. "Are you aware of the differences between Alteans and Galra?"

"You... look different?"

"On a biological level, lifespan and birth rate. On a cultural level, mating customs." Kolivan frowned when Keith gave him a blank look. "The Altean lifespan was a third of a Galran span, but offset by a high birth rate, and parenting began young. Five children would be a small family. More commonly, a dozen children."

"Allura never mentioned any brothers or sisters."

"The princess is unusual in many ways," Kolivan granted. "For the Galra, five kits is extreme. Most families have two. Alteans also married and divorced freely, sometimes having multiple spouses over their lifetime, while Galra take one mate, for life."

"Only one?" Keith had no idea how that'd work. Was this something he needed to know, or did it not apply to him? "What does that have to do with Allura's grand-mother?"

"She came of age when her father was barely in his middle years. Had he not been infirm, she would not have ruled for several decafeebs."

"So she wasn't actually a queen, just standing in as one?"

"In a manner of speaking." Kolivan paused, perhaps sorting his thoughts. "At that time, the Galra had already settled two other planets within our system, but Daibaazal was our home planet. All three were unfortunately resource-poor. We had little trade with anyone, and our largest export was our soldiers."

"There were a lot of wars?"

"Among other peoples, yes. We were nothing more than hired mercenaries. But over generations, those agreements became hereditary. Other planets' leaders had their own Galra contingents, whose loyalty had slowly drifted to their employers, and away from the empire."

Keith turned that over, trying to figure out what Kolivan wanted him to grasp. "So if two employers fought, they were pitting Galra against each other?"

"And no risk to them. Beyond that, the Alteans demanded soldiers pay their own passage, rather than employers. The Galra had no say when Alteans raised their transport rates, and no say when employers paid less. Our people were effectively enslaved."

A dull ache settled into Keith's gut. Coran had made it sound like the Galra were one more race that fought all the time, until Alfor brought peace.

"Being long-lived and sturdier than most races did not make our kits any less precious, and death at the hands of distant kin was intolerable." Kolivan studied Keith for a long moment, then looked away. "Those other planets' wars were decimating our people. The only ones with the power to stop the brutal cycle were the Alteans."

There weren't enough pieces to understand the pattern, but some of it was becoming clear. Keith felt ill.

Kolivan tapped the table, drawing Keith's attention to the third image. "That was Zarkon's mother, Empress Takan. She petitioned the Alteans repeatedly, to release our people from their contracts and bring them home. We needed a chance to rebuild."

"And the Alteans said no, because they also hired the Galra to fight," Keith guessed.

"Correct." Kolivan tapped one finger on the table-screen, a rare frustrated gesture. "The Alteans styled themselves ambassadors, but only for their own pockets. Even resource-rich planets were at the mercy of the Altean merchant-nobles. They had technology far beyond anyone else's, and they did not negotiate."

"Like the teladuv."

"Among other things. Once the nobles gained Gregory's power for themselves, they simply divided up the galaxy amongst themselves. Each Altean noble family held a quadrant as their personal fief, and those who did not pay were subjugated."

Keith had a feeling where that was going. "Subjugated… by the Galra."

"Yes. Alteans were not known for dirtying their own hands." Kolivan laced his fingers together. "Princess Allura is quite unusual for going personally into battle."

"But I thought Alfor did, too."

"Alfor was not royal, himself. He was the Queen's consort."

Keith frowned, thinking it over. "Where does Zarkon come into this?"

"Patience, kit, I'm getting to him." Kolivan's half-smile flickered. "There is something else you need to understand. Empress Takan raised Zarkon to lead and protect the Galra, but where she wanted peace at all costs, Zarkon wanted the Galra to flourish. What he needed was leverage, and it came in the form of a comet."

"The one that became Voltron."

"Precisely. Naturally the Alteans sent the Queen's consort, Alfor, who was also an engineer and alchemist of some regard. For once, our traditions as a military people served us. The Alteans couldn't take the comet by force, despite Alfor's interest—"

"Because their armies were made of Galra soldiers?"

Kolivan nodded. "Zarkon offered an alliance. Alfor could take the comet and study it, and in return, the Alteans granted Zarkon generous benefits. Transport costs, import taxes, and the lifting of various sanctions they'd imposed on behalf of some employers."

Keith looked at the images again, trying to place them against his impressions from Coran's version. "And then Alfor built the lions?"

"That came later. First, he introduced an Altean alchemist to Zarkon."

"Honerva." Keith wasn't sure which name to use for her.

"Despite initial distrust, eyewitness accounts say the emperor was devoted to her, and the affection was mutual." Something like sorrow crossed Kolivan's face. "She adopted our ways, and was embraced by the people."

"Because she did Galra things?"

"More than that. She brought us Altean knowledge that had previously been forbidden to us. More importantly, she was the one who discovered the greatest value was not the comet taken back to Altea, but still on Daibaazal."

Keith sat up straight, shocked. "The rift—and the quintessence from it? Coran said all Zarkon talked about was how this would power ships, and create weapons—"

"Yes, and that was the last thing the Alteans wanted." Kolivan frowned. "Zarkon wanted the Galra to finally stand as equals to the other planetary rulers. From what remains of the Altean records, the Altean nobles were convinced this would lead to every Galra soldier rising up against their employers."

"Then why build the lions?" Keith halted, thinking. "Coran said… Alfor didn't build the lions, that they built themselves."

"Why he built them, I don't know." Kolivan spread his hands: an open question. "I can only tell you how they were used."

"To fight."

"Yes, and no." Another flicker of amusement, when Keith huffed in frustration. "I am not telling you a history of how I want you to see my people... our people. I am telling you what happened, as reconstructed from eyewitnesses. Fairytales have no value to me, kit."

"So how were they used?"

"To bind five races together." Kolivan paused, staring at the system map. "When our clan-battalions were not forced to fight each other, they usually faced either the Dalteria or the Rygniran. As for Altea, its most significant opposition was a distant planet called Nalquod, which was the only known source of some materials required for Altean technology."

"Coran said the Galra had fought for generations with Nalquod."

"They were hired to do so, though this made little difference to Nalquod." Kolivan rose, going over to the wall. He tapped on the small screen, entering several commands. A moment later, he set a steaming cup before Keith. "It's called doca. It should be more to your taste than the tuga you've been drinking." He sat down, taking a careful sip from his own cup.

"That sour stuff?" Keith sniffed the cup. It didn't smell bad, at least. "It's all there is, in the refectory."

"I'll have Roq give you another tour. Clearly you weren't paying attention the first time."

Keith took a careful sip. The flavor was subtle, but a little like mushrooms. Heated mushroom water, which was strange, but still better than that other stuff.

"Alfor arranged a treaty between Zarkon and Blaytz of Nalquod," Kolivan continued. "From a political perspective, the only one who gained was Altea. The Galra had no need of Nalquod's raw materials, and Nalquod simply wanted the Galra to stop invading."

"So it was for show?"

"To some degree. Shortly after, Zarkon negotiated treaties with the Dalteria and Rygniran peoples. Unfortunately, the result was economic turmoil on a galactic level."

"But treaties mean everything's peaceful—" Keith cut off at Kolivan's flat look.

"When a planet's only defense strategy is mercenaries who now refuse to fight, this does not mean peace. It means war changes shape." Kolivan ran a claw around the rim of his cup. "Instead of battles, there are sanctions, new trade arrangements, smuggling."

"Oh," Keith said. It did make sense, but why hadn't Coran even mentioned any of this?

"Part of the reason the Dalteria and Rygniran agreed to a treaty was that Zarkon promised to share the new energy source. Thanks to the Empress' experiments, our scientists were developing hyperdrive ships, powered by quintessence. While not a teladuv, it was enough."

"And that threatened the Altean monopoly."

"Not immediately. For the first few decafeebs, the five leaders worked to bring peace to the galaxy." Kolivan's lip curled, a sardonic expression. "The Galra, Dalteria, Rygniran, and Nalquodans contributed soldiers. Altea contributed transport ships, drone sentries, and Alfor."

Keith frowned. "That doesn't seem fair."

"Especially considering Altea always determined who should be subdued. The most common targets were smugglers, like the Unilu. Or planets trying to develop a competing technology to the teladuv."

It wasn't really a peace, then. It was just protecting Altean interests. Perhaps not much different from the alternate-universe Alteans, after all. "What about the rift, though? Coran said it was destroying the planet."

"First, I am not a scientist, so I can't say either way," Kolivan said. "Second, the Galra occupied two other planets in the system. Daibaazal was not a heavily-populated planet, unlike Altea. When the rift began to destabilize..."

Oh, right. "That's when Alfor built the lions."

"Yes, and the five leaders used the machines at the rift," Kolivan said. "There are varying versions of that, and it's possible Coran's version may be correct. But it's also the case that Altea absolutely wanted the rift closed. If Altea did not control the energy source, then Altea would see it destroyed."

"But it was destroying the planet!"

"Perhaps. It's also quite convenient, for the civilization whose economic and political stranglehold is threatened by that very rift."

Keith frowned. Allura always called her father a great man, one who'd brought peace to warring planets. Time and again she expressed her father's vision of Voltron as a unifying force, a beacon of hope for the oppressed.

"Regardless, the Empress fell ill—"

"And Zarkon lied to the other paladins, so they'd help take her into the rift."

Kolivan's brows went up. "Do you know why the Blade of Marmora has survived for so long?"

Startled by the topic swerve, Keith frowned, uncertain. "Because you're secret?"

"Because Galra struggle with subterfuge and deception. The average Galra would have trouble even identifying it. For generations, our entire culture has been rooted in loyalty to a chain of command. Lies are anathema to that."

"But Thace—"

"Took advantage of that, as do all the Blades who work as spies," Kolivan said. "Our accounts are scattered, and not all agree, but there is a general consensus that Zarkon was quite blunt. His empress was dying, and the quintessence could heal her. Trigel and Gyrgan agreed immediately. Alfor disagreed, until Blaytz shifted his vote to stand with Trigel."

Keith thought that over. "Coran said that Alfor agreed only because Zarkon pretended to offer friendship, and asked for help closing the rift."

"You have forgotten our lifespans. Zarkon was always going to outlive his empress. She was dying because she was Altean." Kolivan sighed. "This is speculation on the part of historians, but there's an argument to be made that the Altean parliament did not want her life extended. Losing her meant the Galra would lose their edge in technological advances. Alfor's claim of being tricked may have been his own attempt to excuse himself from defying the Altean nobles."

"And now we're back to Altean monopolies," Keith muttered. "I don't know who to believe anymore. Allura always says her father was a good man, but..."

"Perhaps he was," Kolivan said. "Remember, the Altean nobles held the true power. We cannot know Alfor's personal feelings. Only that he did not have the right to repudiate the Altean parliament."

Keith nodded, subdued. After everything Allura had said, it was hard to think of Alfor as someone's pawn. But it was better than the alternative.

"Regardless, in the space of a single varga, a foreign power—not Galra high command, but an Altean—pronounced the Emperor and Empress dead, removed their bodies from Daibaazal, and began immediate forced evacuation procedures. Those who refused were fired upon."

"But you said the only Altean army was hired Galra." Keith shook his head. "Who was attacking?"

"The red and blue lions," Kolivan said. "To the Galra citizenry, it was an unprovoked attack by those believed to be allies."

Keith suddenly wondered what Kolivan's first thought had been, when Red attacked the Marmora headquarters.

"According to eyewitnesses," Kolivan continued, "the green lion eventually joined in. The yellow lion attempted to stop them, and the resulting battle destroyed a significant part of Daibaazal."

"But people were supposed to be evacuating," Keith whispered, horrified.

"Very few did. Our only records are last transmissions, made by regular citizens trying to reach their kin off-planet." Kolivan spread his hands. "Our imperial archives, our art repositories, our cultural centers, our universities, our entire high command, our sacred temples. Countless lives. Everything destroyed in the space of perhaps two varga."

Keith couldn't breathe, ashamed of himself. Coran had said Alfor had been forced to destroy the Galran homeworld. He'd spoken as if it was both inevitable and a wise action, and Keith hadn't thought twice of what it really meant. The magnitude of that destruction was almost incomprehensible.

"What remained of our people were scattered across the galaxy. Clan-battalions who'd never been freed, or who'd chosen to remain. Other clan-battalions who'd already resettled on our secondary planets," Kolivan murmured, his gaze on the glowing star maps, as if he'd forgotten Keith's presence. "Meanwhile, our Emperor and Empress lay in state in a foreign power's throne room, yet Altea refused to transport any but a single troop of honor guards, for appearances."

"Zarkon woke up, though… Coran said he declared war on Alfor." He winced, unable to look Kolivan in the eyes. "I'm not contradicting you. I hadn't realized what it must've been like, or why the Galra would've followed Zarkon so willingly."

In the silence, Kolivan got up, refilling their cups with doca. Keith accepted the cup, wrapping his hands around it. He needed both hands to lift it up.

"Zarkon took the battleships his empress had designed, and set his people to building more. He gathered up the far-flung clan-battalions, and began destroying the Alteans, down to the last soul." Kolivan's usual gravelly voice had become almost gentle. "He led the charge in the Black lion, and his only ally was the Rygniran."

Keith looked up from his cup, surprised. "I thought Zarkon was alone against the other paladins."

"Not at first. Alfor sent a decoy force, drawing Zarkon away. That gave Alfor and the Blue lion an opening to isolate and kill the Yellow lion's pilot. Zarkon retaliated by destroying Nalquod and the Dalterion Belt. He then besieged Altea."

"That's when he killed Alfor?" Keith frowned. "But when I first found the Red lion, it was on one of Zarkon's ship. How'd he lose the Black lion and get Red?"   

"According to the imperial chronicle, Black and Red fought, and Black forced Red down. Alfor challenged Zarkon to a duel, outside of their lions. While they fought, the Green and Blue lions subdued the Black lion, and carried it away. With Alfor's death, the lions were dispersed to their hiding places. By the time Zarkon found and killed the Blue and Green pilots, the remaining lions had been hidden." Kolivan paused, eyes narrowed. "I have always wondered whether Alfor acted against the Altean parliament's wishes, when he ordered the lions hidden."

"He didn't want Zarkon getting them," Keith said.

"I am not the most versed in frontline warfare," Kolivan admitted, "but if the Galra could use Voltron, I see no reason why that was not also possible for the Alteans. And as you have proven, there is little that can stand against Voltron."

"Yeah." Put like that, it really didn't make sense to throw away such a weapon. Not that Altea sounded like it'd use Voltron for good, anymore than Zarkon. "I remember Ulaz said something about the Galra originally supporting Zarkon, thinking he'd bring stability."

"He did, at first. But once he'd conquered most of the planets who'd allied with the Alteans, he moved on to conquer the next. We have had near-constant warfare, ever since."

"Was that when the Blade of Marmora began?"

"It was a different organization than now, but yes."

Keith gave Kolivan a careful look, wondering if he'd know when he'd pushed too far. "Why is it called that? Mamora, I mean."

"Ah." Kolivan set down his cup, and his tiny smile looked almost abashed. "Marmora is the patron saint of libraries."

"Like, with books?"

"Archives," Kolivan corrected.

Keith considered the images before him, and closed each. "Thank you for explaining—wait, you said there were two versions. Which one did you tell me?"

"The one we know from the records," Kolivan said. "The one for little kits skips the economics, turns Zarkon's mother into a living saint, doesn't mention the rift, and is mostly focused on recounting Zarkon's feats in battle."

Keith couldn't hide the grin. "I guess some things are the same everywhere."

"I suppose." Kolivan set his cup aside. "Now that you know the history, let's discuss the future, kit. Walk me through your mission notes."


End file.
